Best WDW restaurant w/ Dining plan

[emmanuel_10583]

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Edited October 22, 2012 by emmanuel_10583

[ginzo]

Read some reviews:

 

http://allearsnet.com/reviewpost/showcat.php?cat=32

 

My favorites are Jiko and Yachtman's Steakhouse, but those both require 2 meal credits.

[SharkTums]

^^It would help if you told us a bit more about yourself. Disney has almost everything! Do you like fish or not? Are you a vegetarian? Are you adventurous? Give us more info and people will suggest some great places for you!

[nursemelis374]

When we had the dining plan I felt we got the best bang for our buck combined with a delicious meal at La Cellier and Kona Cafe. The food at Kona especially was fantastic and I feel that it is an overlooked place to eat.

[emmanuel_10583]

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Edited October 22, 2012 by emmanuel_10583

[DerekRx]

Kona has some really good stuff. My favorite place by far is now Boma, it may sound scary being all "African", but it's really a wide variety of great stuff.

 

Think hard about the places that require 2 vouchers. While they may be really good if you order the right thing, if everyone is going to order something average, there's a chance there is something comparable elsewhere in the resort for 1 voucher.

[Meteornotes]

California Grill is amazing. Excellent food and service. I highly recommend going there.

 

dt

[ginzo]

When we had the dining plan I felt we got the best bang for our buck combined with a delicious meal at La Cellier and Kona Cafe.

 

Le Cellier is very difficult to get reservations at for this reason. The cheddar cheese soup and pretzel bread are fantastic! If you get reservations right at when they open for lunch, they make all the employees sing the Canadian national anthem.

[Pufferfish]

The smaller restaurant inside the Wilderness lodge is really good. The waiters/waitresses are very fun, the food is great, and it only costs one meal credit on the meal plan.

 

The 50s Prime Time cafe is another really good one. I always make a point to eat there when I'm at Disney's Hollywood Studios. It's also just one meal credit on the meal plan.

[KGA29]

When we had the dining plan I felt we got the best bang for our buck combined with a delicious meal at La Cellier and Kona Cafe. The food at Kona especially was fantastic and I feel that it is an overlooked place to eat.

 

I second Le Cellier! Yummy pretzel bread and delicious melt in your mouth steaks! Now I'm hungry.

[sugart]

Ohana is one of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life. I always eat there when I go to WDW.

[Yeti762]

We did the dining plan for the first time last year and loved it!!! We are going back to WDW in April and bought the dining plan again!

 

Ohana is fantastic - lots of food! We also liked the French restaurant and Sci Fi Dine in. We didn't really like the 50s restaurant, maybe it was an off day for them.

 

This time we are looking forward to trying (in addition to the French restaurant and Sci Fi) Yak and Yeti, Tonys Town Square, Kona Cafe, and the new Japanese Teppan Edo.

[emmanuel_10583]

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Edited October 22, 2012 by emmanuel_10583

[socalMAN123]

One word my friend: Ohana.

---Brent

[jackskellington101]

I'm willing to try anything however I'm not a big fan of fish.

 

I've heard that Ohana and the California Grill were excellent, what do you all think? I'm really trying to get the best value out of the dining plan and live some great moments with friends. ( Do any of you simply recommend going to the most expensive restaurants ? ). I would like to go to the Coral Reef at Epcot but I've heard that the food is worsening.

 

I'm thinking of going for dinner each time since there should be less children, more choices, better ambiance...

 

So mainly I would just like to know if any of you have top-favorites or tips

 

Thanks

 

I'll break this up into two parts, top favorites and tips. As my last Photo TR at WDW shows, I love food and dining, especially at Disney World. I'm lucky to have a special companion who shares my sentiments in dining. For top favorites, I'll break down the sit downs by park and the resorts:

 

MK

Crystal Palace breakfast. Yes it's a character meal and, not only that it's a Pooh character meal, but it's wonderful location and a wonderful meal.

 

The Plaza Restaurant. It's a tiny restaurant compared to others in the resort, and has a limited menu, but the ambiance is lovely and what they do have, they do very well.

 

Epcot

Le Cellier in Canada. Look at what everyone else has mention; just get your reservation now.

 

The Garden Grill at The Land. It's characters again, but this time it's better characters than Pooh: Mickey, Pluto, and the rodents. It's a family style; all you care to eat meal. Though it does have fish on the menu, you can avoid it if necessary.

 

Tokyo Dining at Japan. One of our most recently visited restaurant, the new design of the location is more modern, but is a little louder than before. The food, though you need to be a little brave to order, is fantastic.

 

Studios

Sci Fi Dine In. If you want an experience, turn no further than Sci-fi. The food's pretty good and the restaurant is fun.

 

AK

None really. You could try Yak and Yeti with the dining plan if you wish but Ashley and I weren't too enamored with it. I'd probably save that point for some resort or another park.

 

Resorts

Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Love it love it love it. One the best restaurants on the resort.

 

'Ohana at Poly. Much like Boma in food quality and one of those major experiences.

 

As for tips, if you want a guarantee of what you want, be sure to get a priority seating reservation as soon as you can. It's not guaranteed for most places, but it'll definitely help. If you want to avoid children, avoid the characters as much as you can. I know I suggested some character meals, but they're not too bad. The most children heavy I suggested was Crystal Palace. If you really want to avoid kids, avoid Cinderella’s Royal Table and Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Many of the places I suggested are very atmospheric, but take a look at menus to see which menus tantalize your appetite the most. I would suggest the menus at allearsnet to further take a look at what sounds good.

[Revolucion]

The Disney Dining Plan was an okay deal before they changed it this year, but now its a ripoff.

 

Tips are no longer included. An automatic gratuity of 18% is paid out of pocket.

 

If you are staying on property for your entire visit but spending more than a day or two off property at IOA or Sea World you are going to be hard pressed to squeeze in all of your dining coupons.

 

Loss of flexibility because you end up spending more time than you otherwise might in restaurants and getting to reservations.

 

The bottom line is that you *might* save a *few* dollars with the dining plan, but are more likely to spend a *lot* more because you order extra food to get your money's worth.

 

Disney advertises a savings of 30%...what they don't tell you is that the advertised savings is based on getting the most expensive item on the menu at the most expensive restaurant, but usually I don't get the most expensive item on the menu.

 

I went in December of 2007 and spent an average of $40/day per person on food. We ate one table service meal each day and one or two quick service.

 

If you like pot roast I really liked Liberty Tree Tavern's.

 

Prime Time Cafe has gone downhill--I don't recommend it.

 

The quick service pizza place at AK was good.

 

For a special treat Victoria & Albert's is wonderful. We didn't go this time because we had the kids, but have enjoyed it in the past. Each course is a work of art.

 

Mythos at IOA was great--I don't recommend the pork, however.

[upside down]

The Yak and Yeti is very good if you like asian food, if not, dont go there, and if you get a table in the right spot you can get some nice pics of EE.

[Teacups Make Me Sick]

I think the best place that takes the dining plan is in Downtown Disney Wolfgang Puck’s. I forgot what one its called...but its the only one there.

 

The food was excellent and we defiantly ate enough to say that the dining plan was a value.

 

Please keep in mind though...that even though you dont have to tip the waitresses (somebody mentioned that they are no longer encluded, thou)....Disney gives them the rock bottom amount. Also, places that aren't part of Disney get a special rate for the cost of food and the staff gets a tip off that amount (not the price on the menu). I had asked a waitress at the Wolfgang Pucks restaurant b/c I do not like stiffing the wait staff.

 

So if you want to be a nice person and show your appreciation, make sure that you give the wait staff a few extra bucks.

 

[ginzo]

The Disney Dining Plan was an okay deal before they changed it this year, but now its a ripoff.

 

Tips are no longer included. An automatic gratuity of 18% is paid out of pocket.

 

People on the dining plan were getting poor service under the old system. If you're a busy server are you going to give attention to the table with a guaranteed tip or the table where your tip depends on your performance?

 

We used the Deluxe Dining Plan in January and it was a pretty nice deal. We ate at a lot of the nicer restaurants and actually did save some money. It all depends on what kind of vacation you want to have. Personally, I think sit down meals at the nicer places provide a nice respite from the constant running around one tends to do at WDW. And I've noticed that most counter service food at WDW is not good. Wolfing down crappy burgers at Cosmic Ray's in between cycles on Space Mountain is not my idea of a nice vacation.

[jackskellington101]

Please keep in mind though...that even though you dont have to tip the waitresses (somebody mentioned that they are no longer encluded, thou)....Disney gives them the rock bottom amount. Also, places that aren't part of Disney get a special rate for the cost of food and the staff gets a tip off that amount (not the price on the menu). I had asked a waitress at the Wolfgang Pucks restaurant b/c I do not like stiffing the wait staff.

 

So if you want to be a nice person and show your appreciation, make sure that you give the wait staff a few extra bucks.

 

 

The recent 2008 adjustment of the dining plan split it into two options: the basic dining plan and the deluxe dining plan. The deluxe dining plan is pretty close to how the dining plan used to be, just with one added meal per day, one more snack (bumping the total to two) and one refillable resort mug per person. The deluxe, from how I can read it, also doesn't break the places down, giving 1 counter service credit and 1 table service credit like the basic plan. It seems to be eat anywhere kind of thing. I could be misreading, in fact my gut tells me something screwy there, but that's how I see the plan. The basic plan removed one thing from the way the plan used to be: the appetizer from the table service meal. Both plans do not cover the gratuity anymore. Disney generally suggests anywhere between 18-25%. On the checks now, they actually calculate 18% and 20% for you, at least that's what I remember from Boma.

[ginzo]

The deluxe, from how I can read it, also doesn't break the places down, giving 1 counter service credit and 1 table service credit like the basic plan.

 

That's exactly it. They're hoping that you'll burn a credit that you could have used at Le Cellier for a counter service meal instead. Not all restaurants are on the dining plan, like Bistro de Paris.

[jackskellington101]

^ Rereading what I wrote, I think I was unclear. The deluxe basically says eat anywhere, ya got three. Counter service, sit down, as long as they take it, no matter. So, there could be three sit down meals and no big. If I'm misunderstanding your comment, the plan, everything, I apologize. It's been one of those fuzzy days already and it's only 11.

[RaptorBoyASU]

I don't know how anyone hasn't said it but.... SPOODLES. We had a fantastic meal there, and really liked the open kitchen atmosphere. Plus it allows you an evening stroll along the boardwalk

 

My other favorites:

 

Boma

California Grille

[ginzo]

^ Rereading what I wrote, I think I was unclear. The deluxe basically says eat anywhere, ya got three. Counter service, sit down, as long as they take it, no matter. So, there could be three sit down meals and no big. If I'm misunderstanding your comment, the plan, everything, I apologize. It's been one of those fuzzy days already and it's only 11.

 

You've got it. You really have to carefully plan out your trip to get your money's worth with the Deluxe Dining Plan, but you can have a great experience if you do it right. If you don't make your reservations several months ahead of time, you'll probably get rooked.

 

We didn't want to eat three sit down meals per day, so we got character breakfasts in the morning followed by 2-credit dinners in the evening. It worked out quite well. My only gripes are the lack of key lime pie on ALL desert menus and the fact that they want to put watercress in EVERYTHING.

 

I also like the paying in advance aspect of the dining plan. Having a giant credit card bill to pay when you return from your trip is no fun.

[Jew]

The Disney Dining Plan was an okay deal before they changed it this year, but now its a ripoff.

 

Tips are no longer included. An automatic gratuity of 18% is paid out of pocket.

 

People on the dining plan were getting poor service under the old system. If you're a busy server are you going to give attention to the table with a guaranteed tip or the table where your tip depends on your performance?

 

 

A good friend of mine just got back from WDW and noted how he thinks the dining plan had ruined Ohana. He said they brought out the skewers of meat 10-15 minutes after being seated and tried to rush them through as much as possible, most likely to squeeze in as many people as possible since it's on the dining plan.

 

And the potatoes are off the menu. That's just not right.